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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sharing links”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “sharing links”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Ocean Product Sharing shows at wp.org #3 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 7520 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Scriptless Social Sharing 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #1 2 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 Social Sharing (by Danny) 2K+ · 5.0★ (68) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Ocean Social Sharing 60K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 too low 7 BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8 Hubbub Lite – Fast, free social sharing and follow buttons 30K+ · 4.7★ (173) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 Social Sharing Block 7K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #11 ↓4 12 Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 User Private Files – Secure File Sharing and Client Portal Plugin 1K+ · 4.4★ (57) wp.org #17 ↑4 18 Social Login, Social Sharing by miniOrange 10K+ · 4.6★ (356) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 Floating Social Share Icons and Social Share buttons – Next Previous Post Links – FL 200+ · 4.7★ (73) wp.org #19 20 Highlight and Share – Unobtrusive and Lightweight Content Sharing 700+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Ocean Product Sharing 20K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 ↑1 18 too high 22 Sharing Image 600+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑2 15 too high 23 Social Rocket – Social Sharing Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Syndication Links 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 1 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.